


In My Dream

by FleetingMadness



Category: Homestuck, Inception (2010)
Genre: Alpha Kids OT4, Alternate Universe, Dead Work, Dreams, F/F, F/M, Foursome Ship, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-29
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-13 03:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/498818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FleetingMadness/pseuds/FleetingMadness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jane Crocker, heiress to BCCorp, discovers a prototype dream sharing device, and decides that the world is only safe if it's in good hands.</p><p>Based on a dream a friend had in which the alpha kids were grown up, and dream divers (or whatever they're called) a la Inception. Jane was point, Dirk was the architect, Roxy was the chemist, and Jake looked pretty and shot people, and between missions, they all lived together and had sex. The Alpha Kids in one big flushed puddle has been my OT4 for a while now, so I latched on to the idea of actually writing this, and here we are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I am the Dreamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything begins with a bang, continues with a whimper, and ends with making out.

Jane Crocker had never been more nervous in her life. As the elevator opened to the fourth floor of an apartment building, she looked back to her friends behind her: Dirk, wearing a slim-cut suit with his signature pointed sunglasses, and Jake, dressed more or less like Indiana Jones. She adjusted the collar on her trenchcoat and pulled the front of her fedora down a little, then turned on her heel and strode out of the elevator, her boys close behind her.

“Yeah, there is pretty much no fucking way this is going to work,” Dirk said. Jane shot him a quick glare.

“Quiet, you,” she said. “Everything’s going to go perfectly, just you watch.”

“We’ll be fine, ol’ chum,” Jake said. He smiled and clapped Dirk on the shoulder. 

“After all, what’s the worst that could happen? We aren’t going after much, just—“

“Shh!” Jane whispered. She nodded towards a door marked ‘412.’ “This is it.” She took a deep breath in and reached her hands back. She soon felt Jake give one of them a comforting squeeze, while Dirk high-fived the other. Letting her breath out slowly, she reached forward and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” an elderly man’s voice sounded from inside the apartment. Jane took another breath and squared her shoulders a little, trying to draw herself up to her full height. Unfortunately, her full height was disappointingly lower than that of her comrades. She pushed open the door, her free hand tucked deep into her coat pocket. Inside the apartment, she found herself surrounded by old paintings and false flowers, and immersed in the smell of freshly baked bread. An old man was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book, with a small Jack Russell Terrier curled up at his feet. The man looked up at the trio and smiled at them.

“Hello there,” he said. “Would you care to join me? I was about to have tea.” Jane glanced at Dirk, who nodded slightly and took a careful step forward. Jane took off her hat and went to join the man at his table. Jake started wandering around the apartment, inspecting the paintings. Jane gave the man the sweetest smile she could manage through her inner turmoil.

“Hello, Mister Jenson,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. You’re looking well today.”

“Why thank you,” Jenson said. “However, I’m afraid I can’t quite recall who you are at the moment. I am an old man, I’m afraid my mind isn’t what it used to be.” He put his book down and picked up the tea pot. Dirk opened up one of Jenson’s kitchen cabinets, and quickly scanned the contents. He pulled out two tea mugs and placed them on the table, then continued to look around the man’s kitchen.

“I’m friends with your granddaughter, Amelia,” Jane said. “I sampled some of your bread at that baking competition the other day, and it was simply wonderful!”

“Oh, did you?” Jenson smiled at Jane and started pouring tea into the cups. “I’m very glad to hear that.”

“Yes,” Jane flicked her eyes over to Dirk, who was facing out the kitchen window; through the corner of his glasses, she could see his bright orange eyes flitting around the room. “I was actually hoping you could give me the recipe for it. I’m sure it won’t taste nearly as good as it does when you make it, but I’d really like to try my hand at it.” Jenson chuckled. Jake turned around from the painting of a watermelon he’d been scrutinizing to cast a disheartened frown at the old man.

“Well, young lady, I’m honored you think so highly of my baking,” Jenson said. It was subtle, but he looked down from Jane, and past her. Dirk noticed this, and followed his gaze to a small cabinet, almost a stool, next to the sink. “But I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Jane’s eyes widened a little, but she managed to retain her composure. “You see, that bread comes from an old family recipe. When I learned it, I made a promise to keep it inside the family. You’re a very sweet girl, but I’m afraid I have to keep that promise.” Dirk started smoothly, casually, imperceptibly moving towards the indicated cabinet. Jane smiled sweetly again.

“I guess the old codger’s just as stubborn when he’s asleep,” Jake muttered. It was just barely loud enough to be heard by everyone in the apartment. Dirk stiffened up. Jane’s eyes widened again, this time with fear. The entire building shook a little, and rain began blasting the kitchen window. The dog at the man’s feet lifted its head, and stared at Dirk. Dirk fixed its gaze, and reached slowly into his suit coat.

“I’m sorry,” Jenson said slowly. “Did you say I was asleep?” The dog bared its teeth, and a low growl began to mount in its throat. Jake’s eyes widened, and he began to stammer incoherently.

“No, of course not!” Jane spoke over Jake’s stammering. Her mind was racing, and the apprehension she had felt since the elevator was beginning to boil over. Her wide, nervous smile did a poor job of concealing how close she was to absolute panic. “He said that… You, um, keep! Keep a, very nice apartment…” The dog slowly stood up, and Jenson leaned back in his chair, fixing Jane with a look hanging on the border of suspicion and fear.

“Wait a minute… I do remember you,” Jenson said. “You were from the baking competition… You were that girl who got second place, weren’t you?” He stood up from his chair and looked around. “My kitchen isn’t this color… Where are we?” He looked back to Jane, who was literally gripping her seat. Jake was still stammering like an idiot, most likely trying to come up with some desperate explanation, and Dirk was still staring down the dog, who looked ready to attack. “How did I get here? What’s going on?”

“Okay, fuck this,” Dirk said. He drew a silenced pistol from inside his jacket and fired one round into the dog’s head. Jenson and Jane yelled in shock. Jake stepped back and stared at Dirk.

“STRIDER—“ Jake only managed to yell Dirk’s name before Dirk turned the gun towards him and fired once, clean through his forehead. As Jake’s body fell, he pointed the gun at Jane and fired a third time. As her body fell out of the chair, he put the gun against his own temple. His obscured eyes met the terrified gaze of Jenson. He said exactly one word before pulling the trigger: “Thanks.”

Jake awoke with a start; his body jerked upright and he yelled out again.

***

“STRIDER, WHAT ARE—“ A high-pitched shriek interrupted Jake’s yelling. He looked around and saw Roxy, the contents of a martini glass recently spilled down the front of her long tee, staring at you with her arms skewed upward in some ambiguously defensive position. “Ah… I’m sorry, Roxy, love.” Roxy nodded, but didn’t lower her arms. Jake reached down to his arm and took out the IV needle that was connecting him to a fork-branded device sitting inside a red suitcase at the foot of the bed. Lying next to him on the bed were Jane, Dirk, and Mister Jenson, all connected by similar IV cords to the red device. “It’s just that—“ Jake was cut off again by Jane lurching awake, in much the same manner that Jake had. Jake immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her against him tightly. Jane was practically panting, and her hand was basically flailing against her opposite forearm, trying frantically to grab her IV drip. Jake pushed her hand down, then disconnected her, making gentle “shoosh” noises all the while.

“It’s all right, Jane darling,” Jake said. “We’re fine, we’re fine.” Dirk sat up quickly, but in a very controlled manner. He yanked out his IV and deftly hopped over the old man asleep by his side.

“Roxy, what’s left on the timer?” Dirk asked. He knelt down at the edge of the bed and checked Jenson’s pulse, then put his ear next to the man’s mouth to check for breathing. Jane and Jake stood up, being careful not to jostle the old man. Roxy leaned forward and propped herself against the bed, looking down at the suitcase.

“Bout three minutes,” she said.

“Good, we have some time to plan,” Dirk said. He looked over to Jake and Jane, the latter of whom was still visibly shaken. “So what do we do, Fearless Leader?” Jane closed her eyes, and ran back through the last few minutes in her head.

“Okay, okay…” Jane sucked in a deep breath while the others watched her, then slowly exhaled. “Okay, we’re going home. Roxy, how long will he stay asleep after we take him off the IV?” Roxy leaned back and propped her chair up on two legs.

“Prob’ly… Jus’ a minute r’ two,” she said. Jane nodded.

“That’s long enough. Dirk, check the other rooms for anything we might have left. Jake, Roxy, pack up everything except his IV. We’ll do that last, then skedaddle at top speed.” Dirk was out of the room before Jane had finished talking. Jake stood upright into a salute, then knelt down and began wrapping up the cords. Roxy made some unintelligible noise of consent, then dropped to the floor and began wrapping cord. Jane stepped over the last attached cord and moved up to the man’s side. Once the cords at the base had been wrapped up, Jake gave Jane the thumbs-up, and Jane took the IV out of Jenson’s arm. Jake hastily wrapped it up, and slammed the case shut. Jane picked up Roxy, and together, the three of them went back to the apartment’s main room. Dirk was peering out the door, and pushed it wide upon seeing them.

“If Roxy’s got her glass, we’re good,” Dirk said. Roxy shook her empty martini glass in his face. The group rushed out the door and filed down the hall to the stairwell. “I washed the cups we used. Did the drugged one twice, just to be sure.”

“Great job, Dirk,” Jane said. “Really well done, everyone.” Roxy cheered.

“Yeah, except for Strider got the bloody paint color wrong,” Jake said. “We were just in that room, like, five seconds before that! How do you even manage that?”

“He wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t straight-up told him he was asleep, chumpstick,” Dirk punched Jake’s arm. Jake punched back.

“Guys, please shut up,” Jane sighed. She pushed open the door to their floor by leaning into it. Dirk clapped her on the shoulder.

“That was some great acting back there,” Dirk said. “You really had that guy going, in and out of the dream.” Jane smiled up at him and grabbed his hand. They walked down the hall together to their apartment. Jake held the door open until they got in, then shut, locked, and bolted it. Roxy braced herself by leaning against the wall.

“So, what exactly happened in there?” Roxy asked. “Why’d you guys wake up all freaked out?”

“Well… I’m afraid I rather did tip our hand somewhat,” Jake admitted. “And then Mister Cool-Under-Pressure over there went into damage control mode. Which, in this case, meant shooting the man’s defense system, and me, and Jane.”

“And myself,” Dirk added.

“So, didja get the recipie?” Roxy asked. “I could SO go for some mad tasty breads right now.”

“We did not,” Dirk said. He sat down on the couch and looked around for the TV remote.

“…I’m going to bake some cupcakes,” Jane said. She left for the kitchen; Roxy curled up on the couch and nestled herself against Dirk. Jake looked at the pair, then towards the kitchen.

“Back in a jiffy,” Jake said. “Don’t start anything too good without me.” Dirk nodded and switched on the TV.

Jane was pulling mixing bowls out from their cupboards when Jake entered the kitchen. He pulled out one of the seemingly infinite bottles of orange soda Dirk kept in the fridge, then stood next to Jane.

“Can I be of assistance, my dear?” Jake asked. Jane smiled at him.

“Oh, no, I’m…” Jane sighed and hung her head. “He just did it. No pause to plan, no hesitation. He knew what he was doing, and he did it.”

“I know,” Jake said. “Damn caddish of him, if you ask me, shooting us cold like some hired gun.”

“No, he was right,” Jane said. “We screwed up, and he took action. What bothers me is that I completely froze up like that. We were getting a recipe, for pete’s sake, and I completely lost it.” Jake put an arm around Jane’s shoulders.

“Oh come on, love,” Jake said. “It was our first time running all this rumpus with someone else’s mind. Of course things weren’t going to go perfectly.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jane sighed. “I just really think I should have done something. I was leading the operation, I should have been able to talk him down, or cover for you, or… Something!” Jake put his soda down and swept Jane into a tight hug. Jane used the little arm movement Jake’s grip allowed to hug him back.

“Jane, you were complete aces in there,” he said. “It was entirely my fault that he caught on to our charade. You were perfect until I fouled it all up. I’ll be more careful next time, and we won’t have any problems.” Jane looked up at him and smiled, then stood up on her toes and kissed him.

“Thanks a lot,” Jane said. “Now go on, shoo. I’ve learned my lesson about letting you bake.” Jake grinned and left the room with his soda.

Jake sat down on the couch next to Roxy, who immediately readjusted herself to have her legs sitting across his lap.

“What are we watching?” Jake asked. The TV was showing an old black-and-white credits sequence, with appropriately cheesy music. Dirk shrugged.

“No idea,” he said. “I think you’ll like it.” Roxy giggled. Jake scowled and cracked open his soda.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Jake said. He took a sip of his drink, then set it on the coffee table. “I’ve never heard you making fun of my taste in movies before, what a completely novel jape!”

“Jape!” Roxy laughed, and fell forward into Dirk’s lap. “Whatta word! J-a-p-e!”

“Dude, I’ve explained this before,” Dirk said. “You don’t have a taste in movies. That implies selection, which means you would have to have found something you didn’t like. Which simply has not happened.”

“That’s not true!” Jake crossed his arms and pursed his lips. “I hated Manos.”

“That doesn’t count,” Dirk said. He began idly running his fingers through Roxy’s hair. “It’s scientifically impossible to like Manos. Its sole purpose is to be despised and mocked by all mankind.” Jake sighed. Roxy started waving her hands in the air.

“Both of you jus’ shut up and watch the movie,” Roxy said. She paused to make sure they had stopped talking. “Good boys.” She let her arms fall, and one of them ended up hanging over the edge of the couch. Almost immediately, a small, four-eyed black cat crawled out from under the couch and rubbed itself against her hand. Roxy picked her up and held her aloft. “Aww, hi there Mutie!” She brought the cat down to sit on her tummy. “Who’s a cute widdle meowcat? You are, yes you are!” Mutie spread out on top of Roxy and started purring. Jake reached over and scratched between Mutie’s ears.

“By the by, we’re going to have a little chat later, Strider,” Jake said.

“Why not now?” Dirk asked.

“I meant in private. Plus, this movie looks like it might be pretty good.”

“The credits aren’t over yet, Jake.”

“You can tell a lot about a movie by the credits.”

“Can you.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I can!” Jake said, puffing his chest out slightly. “For example, I’m fairly certain that—“

“UGHH!” Roxy yelled. Mutie jumped up and stared at her. “Do I really hafta do everything around here?” She grabbed Jake’s collar and pulled herself up. Mutie hopped off her and ran under the coffee table, letting out a slightly distressed meow on her way.

“Roxy, what in blazes are you—“ Roxy flung her arms around Jake’s neck and started kissing him very roughly. Jake froze for a moment, then put his arms around Roxy and kissed her back. Dirk glanced over at them, then looked back to the screen. He soon decided they were the more interesting object, and turned to watch. As they continued to kiss, Roxy slid one of her hands down Jake’s back, and grabbed a handful of Jake’s firm, shorts-covered ass. Jake arched his back and gasped a little into Roxy’s mouth. Roxy then pushed him back down, and lunged at Dirk, pulling him into a very similar kiss. She propped herself up with one hand, and ran the other back through Dirk’s hair, then down to his neck, which she used to pull him in to her. Dirk brought one hand gently to rest on Roxy’s upper back. After a moment of this, during which Jake sat there looking flustered, she sat down between the boys, facing them, and fixed them with a stern look.

“Now lissen up,” she said. “You two need to shut the hell up and watch this movie with me. You basically just kissed, so you can stop behaving like dumb teenagers and make up, at least for the, like, half hour it’ll prob’ly take me to fall asleep. Got it?” Both boys nodded silently. Roxy smiled at them. “Great!” She turned around and laid down across them on her side, with her head in Dirk’s lap. Dirk and Jake looked at each other. Jake had a rather perplexed expression. Dirk shrugged, then looked down as he felt Roxy poke his leg. “Pet me,” she said. Dirk looked back to Jake, who was smiling down at Roxy. Dirk ran his fingers through Roxy’s hair, and allowed the corners of his mouth to lift, just slightly, as she practically started purring under his touch. He and Jake exchanged one, very brief smile before they both turned back to the television.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I T B E G I N S  
> I apologize for any poor formatting. HTML codes confuse and frighten me, and I'm not totally sure what the things on the help page mean, but I'll try to figure this out and make corrections as I go.


	2. I am the Baker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy acts as a pick-me-up for Jane, while Dirk and Jake have a go at each other.

Jane sat at the kitchen table, with her head in her hands. Plates of meticulously iced cupcakes adorned every flat surface in the room, and had recently taken over some of the tables elsewhere in the apartment. Jane had never before accepted that there could be such a thing as “too many” baked goods, but she was starting to see how people might say that. After all, she wouldn’t have stopped baking when she did if she hadn’t run out of some key ingredients.

After baking for hours, Jane had started to feel better about their mission earlier. But now, left with no baking to do and a ridiculous amount of cupcakes sitting everywhere, she was left with an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, and nothing that she could focus on besides turning over the failed mission again and again in her head. So that’s what she did; she ran back through every event, from the moment they entered the dream until the second Dirk pulled the trigger, looking for some opening, some opportunity she missed. Jane was so wrapped up in thought that she didn’t notice Roxy walk into the kitchen, set her martini glass down, pick up a cupcake, and stare at her for a moment. What Jane did notice was Roxy draping herself over her shoulders and hugging her. Roxy nuzzled her cheek against Jane’s.

“Hello, Roxy,” Jane said. A smile spread across her face as she reached up and hugged Roxy with one arm.

“What’s got you all mopey?” Roxy asked.

“I’m just thinking about what happened earlier,” Jane said. “I was in charge of talking to him, I should have done something! I’m sure I could’ve saved us, if I hadn’t—“ Roxy interrupted Jane with a long, loud, drawn-out sigh.

“Pshhhht! That’s in the past,” Roxy said. “Move on already!”

“Roxy, that was earlier today.”

“That’s not the point! Nobody’s mad at you, so stop worryin’ about it!”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jane sighed. “I mean, I know it worked out alright…” She leaned back in her chair and nestled herself against Roxy. “Can I tell you something? A secret, just between us?” Roxy nodded.

“I am, as always, miss zipperlips!” Roxy mimed zipping her mouth shut, and nodded emphatically. Jane chuckled.

“That was very well said,” she said. “You’re not as drunk as usual, are you?”

“Well, I originally came in here to fix that,” Roxy said, waving her cupcake in an exaggerated gesture of exasperation. “But I was distracted by you and your pretty little sad face.” Roxy prodded Jane’s cheek with her cupcake, leaving a dab of frosting on her cheek. “Now, about that secret.”

“Right…” Jane paused for a moment, then started explaining just before Roxy could prod her again. “When Dirk took control like that, he reminded me of my old bodyguards. They were always protecting me when I was a kid, and nobody really messed with me because of them. I appreciate it, I really do. It just gets kind of frustrating after a while, never getting to protect yourself.“ Roxy nodded sagely, a sure sign she only partially understood what Jane was saying.

“I know what you need,” Roxy said. Before Jane could respond, Roxy had swung herself around to be sitting on Jane’s lap, facing her. For a moment, Jane could only blink at Roxy, who was staring into her eyes with a sultry grin. Roxy leaned in and licked the frosting from Jane’s cheek. Jane blushed, and Roxy grinned at her as she brushed a stray lock of Jane’s hair back into place. Her fingertips continued to skim across Jane’s skin, following her hair back to her ear, then down along her jaw, finally resting with her hand gently cupping Jane’s cheek. Jane rested her hands on Roxy’s hips, and pulled her the closer, ever so slightly. Roxy’s lips hovered above Jane’s for a moment before she finally closed the distance and kissed her.

Roxy had an idea of what she was trying to accomplish with this kiss, so she made sure it was slow and tender. She shuffled her hips closer to Jane’s torso, and sat up straight, so she was kissing down into Jane, then slid her upper hand around to the back of Jane’s neck, while her other arm reached around Jane’s waist. After a fairly long kiss, Jane pulled back and smiled up at Roxy.

“Feelin’ better?” Roxy asked. She grinned at Jane, then took another bite of her cupcake.

“Yes, I am,” Jane said. “Thank you, Roxy.”

“Aw yes,” Roxy said. She stood up and walked back over to her glass. A muffled yell came from elsewhere in the apartment. “Sounds like the boys are fighting. Wanna go watch?”

“I’d like to go stop them,” Jane said. “I don’t want to have to deal with noise complaints again, especially if they’re from Jenson.”

“Fine,” Roxy sighed. She poured out the remains of a cocktail shaker into her glass. Jane stood up and stretched her arms out.

“Well, let’s go stop them killing each other,” Jane said. “I’ll bet this is about what Dirk did earlier. Jake seemed pretty upset about that.” Roxy picked up her drink and her cupcake and followed Jane out of the room.

***

Jake English sat on the edge of his bed, leering at Dirk, who was leaning next to the door. 

“Dude, you’ve been staring at me for almost a full minute now,” Dirk said. “If you really want to just look at me, at least ask for a striptease so I can have some fun as well.”

“That’s not it,” Jake said. He stood up and started pacing. “I mean, you’re definitely easy on the eyes. But I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier.” He turned towards Dirk and fixed him with an expectant stare.

“Don’t worry about that, bro,” Dirk said. “It was our first time doing that to someone, nobody blames you for screwing up.”

“That’s not what I mean and you bloody well know it, Strider!” Jake said. “How come it was so easy for you to just off us like that?”

“You’re still pissed about that?” Dirk asked.

“You’re damn right I am!” Jake yelled. “You shot Jane and me! You shot us both, without even hesitating!”

“Well what did you expect me to do?” Dirk stood up from the wall and took a step towards Jake. “You fucked up, he was starting to catch on. That dog was a subconscious defense mechanism, and it was ready to attack. I had to get us out as quickly as possible.”

“But you didn’t even hesitate!” Jake said. “I saw your face when you shot me! You didn’t feel a thing, you heartless bastard!” He took another step forward, putting him within arm’s reach of Dirk. “You didn’t care who you were killing! It didn’t matter that we’re your closest friends, did it? Because Dirk Strider had to get the job done!”

“Dude, just calm down,” Dirk said. “I had to do it. I knew it wouldn’t actually hurt you, so—“

“JUST SHUT UP!” Jake screamed and lunged at Dirk with a punch. In one fluid movement, Dirk slid past Jake and twisted his arm around to his back. He lowered Jake to the floor and knelt over him. Jake yelled again, and tried to swing at Dirk with his other arm. Dirk blocked the strike, then quickly brought his hand down to Jake’s mouth, and moved to be sitting on his stomach. Jake started thrashing around, yelling muffled curses, and tried to punch Dirk again. Dirk blocked the blow with ease, then used his elbows to pin Jake’s arms to the floor, while he leaned his face down and kissed him. Jake returned the kiss almost instantly. It was aggressive, almost as if each side was constantly trying to bite the other. Jake tried to lift himself up, but Dirk’s weight on his arms was too heavy for him to move. He felt his struggling against Dirk grow weaker, and cursed his own muscles. Dirk finally succeeded in biting Jake’s lip. Jake gasped, and felt a shock run through him. Dirk pulled away from the kiss, allowing himself a small smirk when Jake tried to follow him.

“Still angry at me, English?” Dirk whispered. His voice sounded arrogant, and his face carried a smirk to match; it was a break from his perfect poker face that he allowed himself once he had established his dominance in an intimate situation. Jake glared up at the blonde-haired boy above him. For e was still plenty angry, and he was not about to just let that go. Dirk shifted his grip on English so his hands were pinning down Jake’s wrists, and lifted himself up. Jake saw his chance; he quickly tucked his legs up under him, his knees against Dirk’s chest, and shoved out. Dirk was shoved back and fell onto Jake’s bed. Jake stood up quickly and threw himself on top of Dirk, straddling him and pinning his arms above his head. He held himself so his lips were just an inch away from Dirk’s, and smiled.

“Yes, I am still cross with you,” Jake said. “What are you going to do about it?” Dirk remained perfectly silent and turned his head away from Jake, but his slowly flushing cheeks betrayed his attempts to conceal his thoughts. Jake had learned long ago that the one thing Dirk loved more than being in control of any sexual encounter was having that control wrenched away from him. He tightened his grip on Dirk’s wrists. “Dirk, look at me,” Jake said in a low voice. Dirk slowly obliged. Jake stared down at him for a moment, then kissed him again, much more tenderly than before. Dirk grudgingly kissed him back, moving as little as he could until John lifted his weight slightly to adjust himself. Dirk seized this chance to pull his knee up and knock one of Jake’s legs out from under him. Jake’s weight fell to one side, and Dirk was able to shove against Jake’s arm upwards and roll both of them over, so he was hanging over Jake. Jake held his grip on Dirk’s wrists, and pushed up as hard as he could, stopping Dirk from lowering himself. Jake tried to tuck his legs under Dirk, but Dirk lifted one of his own knees to stop him. Dirk’s sunglasses were slipping, and Jake could see his friend’s bright orange eyes staring down at him, full of a predatory desire that the rest of his face would never betray. They stayed like this for a while, each one trying to move their arms in a different direction, staring intensely into each others eyes, until they heard the door open. Jake quickly let go of Dirk and scrambled into a sitting position. Dirk caught himself and sat on the edge of the be, then casually pushed his sunglasses back up his nose. Roxy stood in the doorway, with Jane poking her head over Roxy’s shoulder.

“Havin’ fun?” Roxy asked.

“You could knock,” Jake said.

“Yeah, Roxy,” Dirk said. “We were having a really intimate exchange. Feelings were being spilled like blood, souls were being bared more shamelessly than that girl’s ass on the sunscreen bottles. We were having a moment, and you just barge in on us like that.” Jake buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

“Yeah, I getcha,” Roxy said. She winked at the boys. “I’m sure things were well on their way to gettin’ bared.”

“Just try not to yell,” Jane said. “The last thing we want is to attract attention to ourselves right now.”

“Ah, right,” Jake said. “Sorry about that, love. It won’t happen again, I swear.” Jane smiled.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “And with that, I’m going to bed. Good night, everyone.” Jane waved as she walked across the hall to her room. Roxy looked back and forth between her and the boys, who were quietly smoothing out their skewed clothes. She sighed and took a sip of her martini.

“I’m gonna go cuddle her for a bit,” Roxy said. “You two have fun.” She spun on her heel, staggered back a few steps to regain her balance, then followed Jane into her room. Dirk and Jake looked at each other in silence for a moment, before Dirk stood up.

“If there’s nothing else you want to say, I’ll take my leave,” Dirk said. “I’m a busy man, English. I can always make time for you, but I can’t afford to waste it.” Jake crossed his arms and pouted at Dirk.

“Yes, fine,” Jake huffed. He waved a hand at Dirk. “Go on, get going.” Dirk walked towards the hall, but paused in the doorway and looked at Jake.

“That was fun,” he said. “We should do it again sometime.” Jake stared at him as he turned and left the room. After a moment’s pause, he shook his head.

“Fucking Strider,” he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I T C O N T I N U E S
> 
> So here's chapter two. This one picks up right where the last one left off, but I'm not sure how common that will be. The next chapter, which I'm making due by next Monday, will not be congruous, and will take place in the past, relative to these last two chapters. So you all have that to look forward to.


	3. I am the Dancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's ballrooms and bullets in the latest installment of In My Dream! Will Jake escape his mysterious pursuer, or has English seen his last adventure? Will Roxy manage to find enough alcohol to become inebriated, while the circumstances are stacked against her? Find out, in... I AM THE DANCER!

Jake ran down a long, dark corridor. Veins of light outlined a grid on the surfaces of the hall around him. As he ran, he pointed one of his pistols behind him and fired blindly. Judging by the sounds his pursuer made, this volley had served only to further anger it. Years adventuring with his grandmother had taught him that when you’re being chased by something, you never look back at it, so Jake just kept running, his feet pounding on the hard, seemingly metal floor. He could see a door ahead of him. If he could just reach that, he’d be free, but it never seemed to get any closer, no matter how much he ran. He reached one hand out towards it in melodramatic desperation, and was extremely surprised to see it fly open, and a white and orange blur come flying out of it. The colors settled on the wall, and Jake made out the form of Dirk, dashing along the wall towards him, sword in hand. Jake grinned and waved. In seconds, Dirk had passed Jake, and a horrendous, drawn-out wail signaled that he had finished off his pursuer. Jake stopped running and leaned on his knees to catch his breath. Dirk came up and tapped him on the shoulder.

“You never looked behind you, did you,” Dirk said. It was a statement, rather than a question.

“It slows you down when you’re running,” Jake said. “Why? What was chasing—“ He turned to look at his fallen pursuer. Soft white stuffing was strewn across the hall, surrounding the lacerated remains of an eight foot tall teddy bear. “But… It… My bullets…” Jake stared in shock at the bear for a moment, then turned back to Dirk. “And you! How the blazes did you move that quickly? Or stay on that wall like that?” Dirk remained silent, and Jake held his gaze.

“Come with me,” Dirk said, after a few moments of expectant silence. “I want to show you something.” He started walking down the hall. Jake turned to follow him, and was surprised to find the door just a few feet away.

“When did that get there?” Jake asked. Dirk ignored his question and opened the door.

“Stay here for a sec. I’ll call you in.” Dirk walked in and closed the door most of the way. Jake looked at the door; Through the small crack left open, he could see warm light spilling onto the far wall of the hallway. Jake could hear the sounds of muttering voices coming from inside, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying, or who they belonged to. After a moment, Dirk’s voice came calling from inside the room. “Alright, come in.” Jake pushed the door all the way open with one of his pistols, then looked inside. His jaw was almost audible as it fell open.

The first thing Jake noticed was Dirk. He was wearing nothing but swimming briefs and his shades, and leaning over a beautiful woman in his arms. Thin, red-silk panties and a strapless bra stood out against her smooth, pale skin, and drew attention to her curves. As Jake’s eyes moved up her body, he realized that he was looking at Roxy. She had one arm around Dirk’s neck (the other holding was holding her martini glass) and her eyes fixed upward into his shades, just inches from her face.

The next thing Jake noticed was Jane, who was lying on a table next to Roxy and Dirk. She was blushing like mad, and posing on her side like a model, wearing a sky-blue one-piece swimsuit with a floral pattern. Jake stood gawking at this spectacle before finally taking notice of the room that surrounded them. Jake found himself at the edge of a large, gold-and-silver ballroom, with countless lushly decorated tables lining the walls, leaving the center of the room as an open dance floor. Jake’s gaze switched from Dirk, to Roxy, to Jane, and back to the room. After a few more cycles, a little stammering, and a bit of perspiring, Jake’s eyes finally settled on Jane, slowly drifted downward until they fixed on her butt, which was necessarily emphasized by both her outfit and her pose.

“Good grief!” Jake finally managed. “Pinch me, somebody. I must be dreaming!”

“You are, actually,” Dirk said. He stood himself and Roxy up straight. Roxy fell forward to press herself against him, and wrapped her free arm around him. “Although, the choice state of Jane’s ass is accurately represented.” Roxy giggled. Jake blushed. Jane sat up quickly and adjusted the ends of her suit, still blushing profusely.

“No use hidin’ it, you big cutie,” Roxy said, grinning at Jane. “Besides, it’s not like we haven’t seen it before.”

“So I’m dreaming, you say?” Jake spoke up quickly, before the conversation could continue to focus on Jane’s (rather nicely sized) butt.

“Yeah, man,” Dirk said. “You’re the only one who didn’t know it right away. Remember? We decided to try out that weird thing Jane stole—“

“Borrowed,” Jane corrected. “And it’s called the Betty Crocker Corp Oneiric Communalization Device.”

“They were aware that makes the acronym ‘OCD,’ right?” Dirk asked.

“I’m sure they were,” Jane said. Roxy giggled.

“Oh, that briefcase gizmo!” Jake said. “But… Why couldn’t I remember that before?”

“I’m not sure,” Dirk said. “All of us remembered right from the start.”

“Wait a minute…” Jane said. “OCD? But—No! That’s—“ She looked around at her friends, and found that none of them were listening to her outburst. She stomped her foot and crossed her arms, fixing Dirk with a slight pout.

“I don’t think it’s that weird,” Roxy said. “I mean, you never remember how you got to the beginning of a dream. You just start there, kind of like a movie.”

“Oh,” Jake said. He moved to put a finger to his lips, then realized he was still holding his guns. “That makes sense, I suppose.” He put his guns into the oversized holster belt around his waist.

“Well, now that that’s all worked out, I’m changing,” Dirk said. “This thing’s just a little too tight.” He motioned towards his swimsuit.

“I like it,” Roxy purred as she pressed herself against him. Dirk stepped away from Roxy, and in an instant, his body was covered by a beautiful maroon and gold outfit worthy of a fantasy prince, with a large, regal-looking cape over his shoulders, held in place by a redundancy of gold chains in various lengths. Everyone stared in awe as Dirk gracefully stepped forward to Jane and offered his hand to her with a deep bow. The sound of a beautiful waltz filled the room, and Jane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her blue bathing suit had changed to be a long, beautiful ball gown, in the same shade of blue as her eyes. She took Dirk’s hand in her long white gloved hand. He pulled her into a waltzing position, and together they spun off towards the center of the room. Roxy and Jake watched them go, then turned back to each other.

“How do I do that outfit thingy?” Jake asked. Roxy shrugged.

“You just kinda think about it,” Roxy said. “I mean, it is a dream.” As she spoke, her lingerie was replaced by a beautiful pink silk dress, with one off the shoulder sleeve and a wide strap on the opposite side. Jake gawked at her for a moment.

“That’s amazing, Rox!” Jake said. “So you just think? How about…” Jake closed his eyes, trying to imagine different formal attire. Roxy stifled her laughter as his face screwed up in concentration. Finally, his clothes began to change. His shorts stretched downward, and tucked into leather boots that ended just below the knees; his outer shirt faded from green to tan, buttoned up, and tucked itself under his belt. A neckerchief tied itself under his collar, the larger part hanging down his upper back, and Jake posed proudly before Roxy, proudly displaying his safari uniform.

“How do I look?” Jake said. He gave Roxy a one-sided grin. “Pretty spiffy, eh?” Roxy stared at him, and her facial expression switched back and forth between amused, incredulous, and the smile of someone who was looking at a box of sleeping kittens. After a silence that Jake found just long enough to be uncomfortable, Roxy stepped forward and put a hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“Jake.” Roxy took a sip of her drink, then continued. “You are. The cutest god damn thing.” Jake’s face turned bright red.

“Well, I, er,” Jake stammered. “Well, I… Thank you, Rox… You’re, ah… That is to say, I… Er, well, you are—“ Roxy rolled her eyes, then grabbed his neckerchief and pulled him forward into a deep kiss. She stepped forward and pressed herself against him; she had to crane her neck back to continue kissing him. Jake struggled briefly, then surrendered himself to the kiss, and put his hands on Roxy’s waist. After a minute, Roxy lowered herself, breaking off the kiss, but kept herself close to Jake by putting her arms behind his neck.

“So, Doctor English,” Roxy purred, giving Jake a demure smile. “Care for a dance?” Jake blushed furiously as a huge, goofy grin forced its way across his face.

“O-of course, Miss Lalonde,” he replied. He tried his best to sound dignified and collected, but failed. He took Roxy’s free hand in his, and the pair of them began spinning off into the center of the room. Across the floor, Dirk watched this spectacle over Jane’s shoulder with growing amusement. Jane looked up at him, and followed his gaze as the pair rotated in their dancing.

“You seem very fixed on someone very far away,” Jane said. “It’s almost enough to make a girl jealous.“

“Jake’s asocial upbringing is showing again,” Dirk said. “It’s fascinating how five years of actual society have taught him next to nothing.”

“Well, four of those years were college, to be fair,” Jane said. “There’s also Roxy fawning over him every time he does something. I’m sure that’s inhibited a good deal of growth.”

“She does have considerable powers of persuasion,” Dirk said. Jane had no response, so she simply pressed herself against Dirk, and they continued to dance. Finally, the song came to an end. Dirk kissed Jane’s hand with an extravagant bow; Roxy kissed Jake’s face after throwing her arms around his neck. The two pairs met in the center of the room.

“So that was fun,” Dirk said. “Where to next?”

“Can we go to a beach?” Jane said. “I haven’t been to a beach in ages! There aren’t any good ones where we live.”

“What in blazes are you two on about?” Jake asked.

“What, you don’t like beaches?” Roxy asked. She leaned on Jake’s shoulder, her hips falling completely out from over her feet, and poked Jake in the chest. “I’ll bet you’re covered in beaches normally, though!” She snickered. Jake supported her with an arm under her shoulders.

“Roxy, are… Are you drunk?” Jane asked.

“Maybe a little,” Roxy said.

“Impressive,” Dirk said.

“Not impressive, dangerous!” Jane said. “You willfully injected chemicals into your arm while you were drunk! We don’t know how the compound reacts to a high blood alcohol content!”

“That’s why it’s impressive, actually,” Dirk said. “She was stone-cold sober when she came in. I made sure of it..”

“Oh.” Jane blinked at Roxy, who was now holding on to Jake with both arms, while Jake was struggling to get a good hold to support her. “So, she’s… Mentally drunk?”

“I think it’s more like she wants to be,” Dirk said.

“Whatever,” Roxy groaned. “Can’t we just go to the beach?”

“What are you talking about?” Jake asked. “Is this more dream magic malarkey, like the clothes?”

“Yes, to both,” Dirk said. He started walking and signaled the others to follow him. “You know how you can walk through a door in a dream and end up somewhere completely different from where you were before?” After the collective noises of assent, the group found themselves standing in front of a simple wooden door standing in the middle of the room. “I’ve pretty much got the hang of that.” He pushed the door open. Warm, humid air poured onto the group from the sandy beach on the other side. Roxy ran through first, and fell face-first into the sand. Jane rushed forward to help her up.

“This is amazing!” Jake said. He walked through the doorway and marveled at the warm ocean sunset around him.

“I used to go to the beach every year when I was younger,” Dirk explained. He stepped through the door and closed it behind him. “My bro would give me swordplay lessons on the sand.”

“Guys?” Jane said. “Guys, Roxy is gone.” Jane was kneeling down, pawing at the sand in front of her, and looking around wildly. The boys looked around, but Roxy was nowhere to be seen.

“M-maybe she’s just playing around?” Jake said. “Can you dream-wish yourself to be invisible?”

“Roxy?” Jane called. She pushed herself to her feet, and yelled down the beach. “ROXY! If you can hear us, please come ba—“ Jane stumbled forward and put a hand up to her forehead. “Woah… That was…” Her voice trailed off, and she took a dazed step backwards before disappearing completely. Jake stared in horror at the empty space where the heiress had been seconds before.

“Dirk, what’s happening?” he said. “What the fuck is going on?”

“I think we’re—“ Dirk began to explain, but Jake disappeared in the middle of his sentence. “…Waking up,” Dirk finished. He looked out over the water towards the sunset. “Well, that was—“

 *** 

Dirk came to very slowly. He first became vaguely aware that there were noises around him. Then came the shaking, which he tried to put a hand out to stop. He forced himself to open his eyes, and saw two slightly blurry shapes above him. Trying to push through the fog obscuring his thoughts, he raised one hand and pushed it up to test one of the shapes.

“I think he’s fine,” Jake announced, after removing Dirk’s hand from his face. Dirk blinked rapidly, eventually clearing his vision enough to determine that Jake was now holding his hand, and to identify Roxy’s face above him before it dropped below his line of sight, and Roxy’s body started hugging him.

“Oh my gosh I was so worried about you!” Roxy said, as quickly as humanly possible. “The timer on the thing ran out, but you didn’t wake up like the rest of us, and I was worried that I’d mixed the stuff wrong and that you were in trouble and I just SO could not deal with that!”

“I’m fine, Roxy,” Dirk said, patting the frantic girl’s head.

“Nice to have you back,” Jane said. She was standing at the foot of Jake’s oversized bed, where the Betty Crocker Corporation Oneiric Communalization Device was sitting on a chair. Dirk carefully pried Roxy’s arms off from his chest and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

“Okay, I need a drink,” Roxy said. She hopped off the bed and stretched her arms upward. “That was wa-ay too stressful.”

“I think I’ll come with,” Jake said. “I could do with a glass of water.”

“Water?” Roxy asked. She started leading Jake out of the room. “Bo-oring. Why not have a shot of whiskey? Adventurer types love whiskey.”

“Rox, it’s three in the afternoon,” Jake said. “Why would I drink at three in the afternoon?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Roxy asked as she practically pulled Jake through the door. Jane watched them leave, then sat down on the bed next to Dirk. The blonde genius had taken his sunglasses off, and was massaging his temples.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Dirk?” Jane asked softly. She put a hand on Dirk’s shoulder.

“I told you, I’m fine,” he said. “I’m just a little tired.”

“Yeah, you really look ‘a little’ tired,” Jane said. She frowned at the slight bags under his eyes. “Have you been sleeping well lately?”

“My work keeps me up late,” Dirk said.

“Dirk, you answer phones for tech support,” Jane said. “How on earth does that keep you from sleeping?”

“Not that shit.” Dirk waved his hand. “My other stuff. Programming projects, like the auto-responder.” Jane sighed.

“You can’t let stupid things like that mess up your sleep,” Jane said. “You need to get proper amounts of sleep, or else you’re going to get sick!” Dirk raised his head to look at her. His piercing orange eyes looked directly into hers, and he smiled gently.

“Alright.” It was a single word, but Jane was amazed at how much compassion it held compared to Dirk’s usual tone. “Tell you what. I’ll try to get more sleep, but you have to bake us cookies.” Jane stayed quiet, stunned by the sight of Dirk’s eyes, willingly shown, combined with how absolutely expressive his face and voice were. After a moment, she nodded and smiled back at him.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” she said. She leaned forward and gave him a tight hug. They stood up, and Dirk put his shades on, once again removing all trace of emotion from his face. Jane grinned up at him for a moment, then stood up on her toes and kissed him.

“Miss Crocker,” Dirk said with half-assed mock surprise. “Whatever did I do to earn that?”

“You let me get dressed up, and then danced with me,” Jane said. “That was long overdue.” They began to walk out of the room. “By the way, I will be checking on you, starting tonight, to make sure you’re sleeping.”

“I’d be careful about going into men’s rooms at night,” Dirk said. “People might talk.” As he spoke, he gave Jane’s bottom a light squeeze. Jane playfully swatted his hand away.

“Watch it, buster,” she chuckled. “I said 'tonight'.” Dirk grinned ever so slightly as the pair walked out of the room.

“You are aware how scary the implications of that machine are, right?” Dirk asked. Jane’s smile fell.

“I am,” she said. “That’s why I ran away with it. I couldn’t let that kind of technology fall into the wrong hands.”

“Good call,” Dirk said. Before he could continue, Jane rushed forward.

“Roxy—Roxy, you’re drunk, put Mutie down!” Dirk watched her rush to the four-eyed feline’s rescue, and muttered under his breath.

“If anyone can find a good use for that thing, it’s going to be you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, it's a little late, but... Here's chapter three. I hope it doesn't suck as much as I think it does right now. I'm going to give myself two weeks for the next chapter, partly because school's picking up, and partly because I have another story that should be making a debut on here fairly soon. Until then, enjoy the continuing past adventures of the Alpha Kids.  
> Also, disregard any notes you might see below this. My comment about being frightened and confused by HTML bullshit stands.


	4. I am the Elder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane decides to visit someone very important to her, while the AU tag kicks you again, and aims for the feelings. Relatively important notes at the end.

Jane had never liked the Shady Breeze Retirement Home. From the outside, the building looked to be teetering on the brink of disrepair. Chipped concrete bricks piled on top of each other to form the outer walls, their monotonous pattern broken only by the column linings around the doors and windows and the strands of ivy growing up the building’s sides. Jane shivered as she looked up at the name of the complex engraved in the stone above the door. This place always reminded her a little too much of a tomb. Dirk stood next to her and nudged her gently.

“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Dirk asked. “You know I’m always down to trade banter with the old man.”

“I’m totally sure,” Jane said. “As much as I enjoy watching you two dueling wits, I really need to talk to him about some things, and there’s only so much time before he falls asleep again.” The two of them entered the ominous building as they continued talking.

“Alright,” Dirk shrugged. “Tell him I said hi.” Jane waved at the worker at the front desk, who waved them inside. She then smiled up at Dirk and took his hand.

“Thank you,” she said. She stood up on her toes, but still had to tug on Dirk’s arm to get him to lean over before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you in if he’s still feeling alright once we’re done talking.”

“Awesome,” Dirk said. “I’ll be in the courtyard, playing chess with Arthur.”

“Good to know,” Jane said. She let go of Dirk’s hand and started to walk towards the residence hallways. “I still can’t believe you’re on first-name basis with the residents.”

“Only the cool ones,” Dirk said. Jane waved to him, and he gave a casual wave back. He took a few relaxed steps backwards, watching her as she moved away at a slightly rushed walk. He stopped and looked around. He was standing in the middle of a lobby that also served as a sitting area for the residents. An elderly woman in a heavy blanket and thick glasses was sitting next to him in a rocking chair, reading a book with large print. Still looking around, Dirk put his fist out in the woman’s direction. “ ‘Sup, Doris.” The woman gave him a fist bump and a subtle nod, then returned to her book.

***

After what felt like an uncomfortably long walk through the narrow, depressing, slightly dirty hallways of the retirement home, Jane finally arrived at a door marked “John Crocker.” A smiley face emblem had been placed next to the name tag; Poppop had “fixed” it long ago by drawing a pair of beaglepuss glasses on the face with a marker. The staff, apparently, had been either too amused or too underpaid to remove it. She knocked on the door, then put her ear against it.

“Come in!” a kindly voice called out after a moment. Jane pushed the door open, but didn’t move in; a plastic cup of water fell from above the doorstep and spilled on the ground. Across the room, Jane’s grandfather sat in a rocking chair and laughed.

“Ahaha, Jane, my girl!” John’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Finally wised up to that old trick! Come over here, give me a hug.” Jane stepped over the water puddle and picked up the cup, then ran over to him and threw her arms around him. She hugged him tightly, taking in everything about him she hadn’t felt in so long; the bristles of his moustache against her shoulder, his distinctive blend of soap and cologne, even his large, square glasses poking into her neck.

“I’ve missed you, Poppop,” Jane said, her voice quiet and shaking.

“I missed you too,” he said. “The last time you visited, the papers said you had been kidnapped earlier that day.”

“Just a little prank,” Jane grinned. She stood up from the hug and sat down on the corner of John’s bed. “I needed Crocker Corp to think I hadn’t just run off with their latest prototype.” John tented his fingers, and nodded for Jane to continue. “Well… I found a thing. It was nothing, really. A prototype for a new product. It wasn’t even going to be announced for another year.” John sat up straight and looked down his bifocals at Jane. “I… I can’t say too much about it, but it sounded like science fiction. I didn’t believe it until I saw the test results.” She dropped her head, facing her lap with unfocused eyes. Her hand tightly gripped part of her skirt as she continued. “There are a lot of frightening things people could do with that kind of technology. I’m sure there’s good stuff, too, but all I could think about was how drastically it would change things like information warfare, blackmail, even basic invasions of privacy. I couldn’t let that happen, so…” She shrugged. “Well, I did what I had to.” John nodded.

“I see,” he said. “You took the machine and ran, then sent a note to make it look like a kidnapping. No doubt a perfectly-executed trick.”

“I learned from the best,” Jane said, smiling up at him.

“Damn right you did,” John said. “And I did a great job teaching you.” There was a moment of silence as the two smiled at each other. “There’s something else you wanted to say,” John said, finally. “You didn’t come here just to tell me all this, did you?”

“Well… What should I do?” Jane asked. “I mean, I’m in possession of terrifying stolen technology, hiding out from a world-wide corporation—which would have been MY company— working at a bakery to afford my share of an apartment in the city. I’m just not used to any of this, and I really don’t know what to do…” Jane bent over and put her head in her hands. There was a long silence as Jane tried to breathe slowly to calm herself down.

“Well, Jane,” John said finally. “This is just the opinion of an old man, so take it for what it’s worth. But it sounds to me like you’ve found something that could be very wonderful.” Slowly, shakily, John pulled himself up out of his chair. He started walking, taking small, slow steps, towards his bedside table. “Think about what you want to be, and what you want to do, because this could very well be exactly what you need to be able to chase your dreams.” He reached down to the table, and picked up a downturned picture frame. His hands shook slightly as he lifted it up and adjusted his glasses to look at it. Jane craned her neck to see what was inside, but couldn’t get a good look without moving. “You’ve grown up into a fine young woman, Jane. And if I had to give you one piece of advice, going into the world, it would be to always listen to what your heart is telling you.” He set the picture down, and turned away from Jane to look out the window. As much as Jane wanted to take a peek at the picture, she couldn’t bring herself to look away from her grandfather. His shoulders were trembling, and as she watched, he lifted his glasses to wipe something from his eye. “If you don’t listen to your heart when you’re young, you’re sure to regret it when you’re older.” Jane finally looked at the picture frame; inside was a small, faded photo of a beautiful woman with a confident, slightly smug smile. She had long, black hair, and wore a pair of large glasses with a blacked out lens. The eye that was visible was a piercing blue, so bright that it looked as though it hadn’t faded at all. There was an illegible signature scribbled in the corner; Jane could only make out the letter "V" at the beginning. When John turned around, he was smiling again.

“Well, there you have it,” John said. “There’s my thoughts on the matter. I’m afraid you’d better leave soon. My medicine will be coming soon, and I’m fairly certain my nurse is being paid by the old Crocker bat to keep an eye on me.”

“Yeah,” Jane sighed. “I should probably go save the other residents from Dirk, anyway.” John chuckled.

“Ah yes, we can’t have Arthur getting too excited,” John said. “He wouldn’t play chess with anyone else for weeks after the last time Dirk was here.” Jane stood up and gave John a tight hug. John gently hugged her, and patted her back.

“I’ll try to visit again soon, Poppop,” Jane said.

“You be safe, Jane,” John said. Jane squeezed him again and nodded. The hug broke, and Jane walked towards the door.

“Bye,” she said. Jane smiled back at her waving grandfather, then shut the door and navigated through the dingy hall back to the lobby. A crowd of elderly residents were gathered around Dirk, who was sitting across a chess board from an elderly man in a rocking chair. Jane waved to him from near the exit. Dirk moved one piece, announced “check,” then stood up and clapped an old lady on the shoulder.

“Go get him, Doris,” he said. He exchanged a parting fist bump with the woman, then walked over to Jane. “Sup. How’s the old guy?”

“He’s doing well,” Jane said. The pair left the building and started walking back to Dirk’s car. “How’s everyone else?”

“Better than I expected,” Dirk said. “Here, one of them had this for you. Figured you’d like it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, small book. The scratched cover showed two men working at a steam train’s engine, under the title ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’ “First edition. Apparently your grandpa talks about you a lot.” Jane smiled at the book.

“How sweet,” Jane said. “I’ll have to remember to bring cookies for them next time… I…” Her sentence trailed off as Jane’s eyes fixed on the words at the top of the book. “Hercule Poirot solves…” Suddenly, a flood of images swirled past her vision all at once. She saw herself at sixteen, wearing a dirty fedora and a false moustache. Then she was twelve, dressed up in an oversized deerstalker and long coat for Halloween. Next, it was three years ago, and Jane was studying for a course on mystery novels… Then last year, gushing with Roxy over the second season of Sherlock… The flashbacks continued, and Jane only realized she had stopped moving after Dirk prodded her out of her reverie.

“You alright?” Dirk asked. Jane beamed at him.

“I’m perfect!” She said, and began striding confidently towards the car. “Now get us home! I’ve got an idea.”

***

“What’s with that name?”

“It’s a pun on a book title,” Dirk said. “That doesn’t matter, though. What do you think of the site itself?” Jane aimlessly clicked another link on Dirk’s proposed website, and found herself on an undertyped “staff” page.

“It seems okay,” Jane said. “I mean, the ‘contact us’ button is nice and presented, and there aren’t cascades of hidden menus. That’s really all you need.” She spun her swivel chair to face Dirk. “Although, I would really appreciate it if you changed the name to something less strange."

“People will like the joke,” Dirk said.

“Dirk?”

“It’s distinctive and memorable.”

“Dirk.”

“Oh, relax, Jane,” Jake said. He leaned on Jane’s shoulder and inspected the open web page. “The name’s not that bad. It’s got a certain dramatic ring to it, I say.”

“Not you, too,” Jane sighed. “That name is ridiculous and misleading.”

“It’s not misleading,” Dirk said.

“It’s implying that you’re the leader,” Jane said. “Or at least the main guy. There is no leader, we agreed. Everyone is everyone’s equal.”

"Well, you do head the social side of things," Jake offered. "That's kind of like a leader, so maybe if we used your name instead?"

"The pun doesn't work then," Dirk said. 

"Also, I'm not the leader," Jane said. "I just take point on operations." 

"That is almost exactly the definition of a leader." 

“How about we get Roxy’s opinion on the matter?” Jake said, before Jane could retort.

“Dude, she won’t even know what it means,” Dirk said.

“We can explain it to her,” Jake said. He began maneuvering his way through the assorted hardware strewn across the floor. “Come on, let’s go!” Dirk looked down at Jane, who shrugged and stood up. Dirk waited for Jake to clear the door, then leaped across the room and into the hall. Jane lifted her skirt and slowly made her way through the forest of machinery, chuckling at Jake calling for Roxy down the hall. Behind her, the computer screen dimmed slightly, still proudly displaying the logo at the top of Dirk’s webpage, declaring the group’s new name: Dirk Strider’s Oneiric Detective Agency.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are. This may be the last chapter for a while. I've officially started working on that other project I mentioned, and classes are starting to pick up now, and I've exhausted my immediate supply of ideas for this fic. I have some plot bunnies hopping around, but it'll take some time and focus to get them straightened out to a writable point, and I have neither quality in excess right now. I make no promises of a timely next chapter, only that this story will continue, and we'll probably either start doing missions next chapter, or get a little more flashback to when the kids were younger.


End file.
